The Before Series: The Proposal
by Kidphd
Summary: I don't have the skill or stamina to write a long story so I have these vignettes. The are called The Before Series since they are set before the show. I am taking the same license writers for the series took with the Danko's back story. Jill is neither an exotic dancer or a waitress in a bowling alley. Mike's time in the Air Force included tours in Viet Nam as a helicopter pilot.


The proposal

Mike had it all planned out. He had invited Jill on a day trip to Catalina Island. He had a buddy there who would help him make the perfect proposal. He and Jill had been dating for almost a year and, even though he knew she was "the one" from the moment he saw her, he had wanted to wait until they had a chance to get to know one another better before popping the question. He wanted to give her the chance to be sure that he was "the one" for her.

His plan was to have his buddy write "will you marry me?" in big letters on the beach just below the restaurant where they would have lunch. Then he'd drop to one knee, show her the ring, and hope for the best.

Everything was going just as planned. He'd arranged with the restaurant to get a table out on the deck with a clear view of the beach. As they approached their table, Mike started talking about how nice the beach was and how great it was that they could enjoy it from their table. Jill had a sneaky suspicion that something was up. Mike had been acting distracted ever since they'd boarded the ferry over to the island and had wanted to get to the restaurant right away. She had wanted to stop and look in some of the shops but she could tell he was a man on a mission. He'd been hinting around for the last month about their future and she'd caught him one time trying on a ring she'd left by her sink when she'd done the dishes. She was really hoping he might ask her to marry him. She'd been sure he was "the one" from the first time she'd seen him and she'd told her friend so. However, she and Mike had taken it slow and spent the last year getting to know one another. She was ready for him to ask already but she wanted him to be sure that she was "the one" for him.

She shook off her thoughts as Mike said again "Jill, don't you think the beach looks really nice this time of day?" and he sort of pushed her towards the deck's railing.

"Yeah. It's great," and she looked out at the water, since it seemed so important to Mike.

Mike asked, "just great?" and he stepped up to the rail and looked over, as if he'd dropped something. There in the sand was a barely discernable "me" with a half erased question mark. He nearly smacked himself in the forehead. How could he forget about high tide? His great plan was ruined!

He turned and looked at Jill who had a perplexed look on her face. Mike, for his part, looked like someone had stolen his skateboard. "Let's eat," he said, and pulled out her chair.

They made conversation during the meal but Jill couldn't help but see that Mike was definitely distracted. She mentally went through their conversations over the last week. Had she missed something? She knew he was casting around, trying to figure out what he'd do once he was out of the Air Force. He was counting the months, anxious to be done with his commitment to the military.

After their meal but before leaving, Jill excused herself to go to the restroom. Mike rushed to the pay phone to call his friend. When he answered, his friend excitedly asked if Jill had said "yes". Mike explained that he didn't get the chance to ask the question because the tide had erased the question.

Mike asked his friend if he'd head over to the arcade at the pier and go to the coin stamping machine. For a quarter, you could stamp a message on a metal coin to keep. Mike told him to wait until they showed up and then stamp a coin with "will you marry me?" on it and leave it for them. Since Jill had never met his friend, she wouldn't be suspicious. His friend agreed and was off.

Mike asked Jill if she'd like to walk down to the pier. She was hoping a leisurely stroll might give her a chance to get Mike to talk about whatever was bothering him. Mike steered Jill towards the arcade and saw his friend just finish up at the machine and give him a thumbs up. "There's a machine here I used to love to play with as a kid. You can stamp messages on coins. I had quite the collection." As they made their way over to the machine, a little boy walked up to it and found the coin in the dispensing tray. "Hey, Mom! I got a free coin!" Mike froze in his tracks while Jill kept walking up to the machine. "Mike? Is this the one you meant?" Mike was dumbfounded.

He and Jill spent about an hour at the arcade. The whole time, Mike was furiously trying to think of another creative and romantic way to ask Jill to marry him. He finally gave up on the ideas but not the goal. Come hell or high water, he was going to ask this woman to marry him! He decided he'd just simplify things and ask her straight out; but not in an arcade or on the sidewalk. He'd take her to the park in town.

As they were walking hand in hand to the park, the wind started to pick up and Jill looked up at the sky. "Do you think it's going to rain?" Mike was a bit distracted but he replied "No, I checked the weather for today and there's only a 20% chance." They headed over to the fountain in the center of the park. Jill liked to throw a coin in any fountain they came to so Mike pulled out a quarter for each of them. "Whoa. What's the occasion? We usually just throw pennies," Jill said. "Well, I have a special wish this time," Mike replied.

As was their habit, they turned their backs to the fountain, held hands, and closed their eyes before making their wishes and tossing the coins over their shoulders. Jill's wish was that Mike would ask her to marry him and Mike's wish was that she would say "yes". Right after they threw their coins and before Jill could open her eyes, Mike asked her to keep her eyes closed until he told her to open them.

He moved around to stand in front of Jill and got on one knee. Just as he pulled out the box with her ring in it, the rain started. Jill opened her eyes, shrugged her shoulders, and held out her hands. "I guess this is what 20% looks like," she said with a smile, as they both got thoroughly soaked. Then she looked for Mike and was surprised to find him kneeling in front of her.

"Jill, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Jill's eyes widened and she put her hand to her mouth. While she'd certainly been waiting and wishing for this very moment, it still came as a shock. She sat down on the edge of the fountain with a thump, neither of them paying attention to the rain shower.

For Mike's part, he was getting pretty worried. Jill looked like she'd seen a ghost and he'd gotten no answer yet so he started explaining. "I tried to make it romantic by having a buddy write 'will you marry me?' in the sand so you'd see it at the restaurant but I didn't count on the high tide and it was washed away."

"Yes," Jill whispered.

Mike was so panicked that he didn't hear her as he rushed on with his explanation. "Then I had that same buddy go to the arcade to make a coin that said 'will you marry me?' but that kid got there ahead of us and took it."

"Yes," Jill said, a little louder this time.

"So then I decided that I just had to ask you because I want our life together to start. I don't want to wait any more and…" And then Jill stopped his ramblings by reaching out, cupping his face, and kissing him for all she was worth. She poured all the love she had for this man into that kiss. When she was convinced she had his full attention, she pulled back a few inches and looked him in the eye. "The answer is 'yes'."


End file.
